Extraordinary Attorney Woo Drama Review

Drama: Extraordinary Attorney Woo (이상한변호사우영우)

Director: Yoo In-shik

Screenwriter: Moon Ji-won

Cast:- Park Eun-bin, Kang Tae-ho, Kang Ki-young, Ha Yoon-kyung, Joo Jong-hyuk, Jeon Bae-soo, Baek Ji-won, Jin Kyung, Joo Hyun-young and others.

About the show:-

The show is about a 26 years old young lawyer Woo Young-woo with an autism spectrum. She has an excellent IQ and is hired by Hanbada law firm (fictional), one of the top 2 law firms of Korea. The story revolves around her life, her father, her interest in whales and Kimbap, her ability to adjust with her colleagues, her difficulties adjusting in the society, the revolving doors of Hanbada, her romantic interest Lee Jun-ho and her journey as 'not an ordinary lawyer' in the competitive world.

(*This review may contain spoilers. If you have already watched the show, please continue reading. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can still continue reading or you can come back to the review later.)

What I Loved about the show:-

The show is one of the best deliveries from the Korean entertainment industry in the year 2022.

The show grips the audience with an episodic theme, where each episode has a unique case and a unique Woo Young-woo 변호사 (lawyer) and the Hanbada team solving it for us. Every episode has an amazing story, remarkable guest actors with their brilliant acting and an impeccable execution by the makers and crew (especially the director and the writer).

The little details of the whales, Woo Young Woo's fascination with them, her undying love for Kimbap and her reasons for the love, the famous Woo to the Young to the Woo, Dong to the Geu to the Rami, the social awkwardness and so much more were all displayed with such excellence that there was no room for flaws and errors.

They just left us with just one little mystery. What is the rivalry between Tae Su-mi and Han Seon-young? And what does Woo Young-woo's father Woo Gwang-ho have anything to do with it? I hope we get to see more about this and a whole lot in season 2.

The Characters and the Actors:-

The cast was also unbelievably extraordinary just as the title suggests.

Park Eun-bin as Woo Young-woo demonstrates her spectacular acting and with her incredible screen presence stole the hearts of all Korean drama lovers. Woo Young-woo was a difficult role and portraying it in her own way instead of re-enacting a real-life person was praise worthy. Park Eun-bin shows abilities and skills beyond her years and proves that talent and hard work do pay off.

Kang Tae-ho as Lee Jun-ho has established himself as a household name. I have never seen a male character been called a walking green flag by so many people since the day I started watching Korean dramas. One of the most flawless main characters and credits to the writers for giving us Lee Jun-ho and to Kang Tae-ho for his breathtaking portrayal.

Kang Ki-young as Jung Myeong-seok is probably my favourite character in the show. His patience, his understanding, his mentoring, his ability to accept his mistakes and working on correcting them, his unwavering support and faith in his group and above all his knowledge and experience have all proved to be feathers on his cap. I am extremely proud of Kang Ki-young's growth as an actor and this opportunity in the form of this show and character proved that his perseverance has paid off.

Ha Yoon-kyung as Choi Su-yeon is exactly what Woo Young-woo describes her as, that is 봄날의 햇살 최수영 or Sunshine in Spring Choi Su-yeon. She is pretty, talented, hardworking, extremely loving, caring, and supportive. She is a strong independent woman and an epitome of Sunshine. She made Hanbada and other tough situations bearable for Woo Young-woo by always sticking by the latter's side.

Joo Jung-hyuk as Kwon Min-woo: It is extremely difficult to play a character with negative shades or a character who makes work difficult for someone and still be adored and loved by people. Joo Jung-hyuk has proved that he can do exactly that. He has nailed the character and proved that he is here to stay and give us more marvellous performances in the future.

Supporting cast:- Jeon Bae-soo as Woo Gwangho (Woo Young-woo's father), Baek Ji-won as Han Seon-young (CEO of Hanbada), Jin Kyung as Tae Su -mi, Joo Hyun-young as Dong Geu-rami (the best friend anyone could ask for and one of the nicest people), Im Sung-jae as Kim Min-sik (Owner of the pub where Dong Geu-rami works) and the other supporting and guest star cast have added a spark to this spectacular phenomenon.

Special mention to some of the guest stars who I loved - Kang Ae-sim (Ep 1), Moon Sang-hoon (Ep 3), Kim Hee-ra (Ep 6),

Lee Ki-young (Ep 6,12), Koo Kyo-hwan (Ep 9), Lee Won-jung and Oh Hye-soo (Ep 10), Lee Bong-ryun (Ep 12), Choi Hyun-jin (Ep 16).

I wish to see more of Woo Young-woo and her brother in season 2.

The announcement of the season 2 in 2024 makes me happy and excited. 기다리고 있겠습니다 (I’ll be waiting patiently).

The Director and the Writer:-

I would firstly like to congratulate the Director Yoo In-shik and Screenwriter Moon Ji-won for the immense success that the show has received. They deserve every bit of it. They have managed to produce a show with such a unique concept, positive characters and storyline and highly talented actors. The entire process couldn’t have been easy, but they persevered and today they get to celebrate not just the success of the first season but the creation of the second season as well.

I would like to thank Screenwriter Moon Ji -won for the beautiful writing and the script. I am also thankful to her for creating strong and inspiring women characters like Woo Young-woo, Choi Soo-yeon, Han Seon-young, Tae Su-mi and Dong Geu-rami. These characters and their influence can uplift so many young women around the world.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (이상한변호사우영우), is probably one of the most talked about Korean dramas of the recent times. The cast, the makers and the show in itself are receiving a lot of well-deserved attention, praise and love and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.

이상한변호사우영우 저에게 정말 특별한 드라마였습니다. 배울 것도 많고 감사할 것도 많았습니다.

많은 분들에게 / 여러분들에게 많이 관심을 부탁드립니다. 이 드라마를 꼭 봐 주세요. 그리고 배우 분들, 감독님, 작가님 그리고 스태프 분들에게 정말 많이 사랑해주세요.

Translation: Extraordinary Attorney Woo was a really special drama for me. There was a lot to learn and a lot to be thankful for. I request a lot of people to show interest in the show. Please do watch the drama. And please give lots of love to the actors, directors, writers and staff.